Becoming Kourin
by Redeim
Summary: After Ep. 33Vol. 8, Nuriko finds he didn't die after all. Instead, he finds himself in Kourin's body, an now he has to convince Miaka and the others he's Nuriko. Forever unfinished. Sorry.


Disclaimer: I don't own Fushigi Yuugi.

Author's Note: This is my first Fushigi Yuugi fic. Please, NO FLAMES! I got this idea after getting Volume 8.

AU after the first sentence. ;

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(This is different from the End of Vol. 8 & beginning of 9)

"Nuriko! You can't die!" Miaka yelled. But Nuriko didn't hear her cries. Tamahome went over to Miaka, holding onto her. Tasuki and Mitsukake, who just arrived, looked from Miaka and Tamahome to Nuriko, and stayed silent. Chiriko was silently crying to himself, and Chichiri sadly looked from Miaka to Nuriko.

Clearing his throat, Chichiri spoke.

"I suppose...We should bury her..." He said. Miaka nodded, trying to stop crying, while Tamahome just held Miaka.

Tasuki watched the group, then growled softly.

"What a mopy bunch we are!" He said, trying to lighten the mood.

"Come on guys! We can bury Nuriko, at least ta put 'er ta rest!" He said. The group huddled around eachother, and Tasuki finally decided to shut up, joining the group in carring Nuriko to where he could be put to rest...

(Tasuki's accent isn't easy...)

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Nuriko woke up groggily.

'Where...Am I?' He wondered. It was pitch black around him. When he tried to move, he found his arms were stuck in something. He felt around, and realized he was in dirt.

"What the?" He said aloud, and got a mouthful of dirt. He started clawing at the dirt upward, trying to get out.

'I'm gonna suffocate! Where the heck are my armlets!' He thought, knowing that he could have gotten out alot quicker... IF he had them.

As Nuriko got into the sunlight, he noticed he was wearing different clothing, and his hair was long again.

'Geez, how long have I been in there?' He wondered. Nuriko noticed his attire as he climbed out of the hole in the night.

"Okay! Who put me in a dress!" He said out loud. But then he realized something, these were Kourin's clothes.

"No way. How'd I get into Kourin's clothes!" He wondered aloud. Then, as his memory came flooding back, he remembered something that happened not too long ago...

FLASHBACK

"I have to go back down there!" Nuriko told a beautiful lady who was directing him to where he would stay for eternity.

She looked at him.

"You can't, you're dead now." She explained. Nuriko shook his head.

"No lady! This is important! If I don't go back to Earth, Miaka won't be able to go to her world because she won't be able to make a wish once they get to Bei-Jia!" Nuriko fell to the ground, crying silently.

"It'll be all my fault...Because I'm not there." He said.

He felt the woman's hand on his shoulder and he looked at her. She smiled back at him.

"You're intentions are good, Nuriko. But you're body won't be able to support your soul, you got too wounded." She told him.

"Then give me another body..." Nuriko mumbled. He didn't think it was possible, but the lady surprised him with her answer.

"Is that what you'd like? Another body?" The lady asked him.

Nuriko nodded.

"Can you do that?" He asked, happier. The lady sighed, rubbing her chin.

"Well, we can, but currently, there's only one person who can support your soul. And-"

"Let me have it!" Nuriko interrupted.

The woman sighed again.

"Well, you see, it's a woman-" She tried to explain, but Nuriko cut her off again.

"Who cares? I've been posing as a woman long enough..." He said stubbornly, crossing his arms across his chest.

The woman looked at him.

"All right, if you insist. You'll still have your memories, I'm sure you want them?" Nuriko nodded.

"You'll feel a little weird at first, because the body was originally decayed, and the skin and muscle might take a little while to grow back." Nuriko grimaced as he imagined himself looking like a zombie. The woman smiled at him.

"But you will be alright, as long as you can get out of the grave quick enough. Understand?"

Nuriko nodded, but still looked confused.

"What happens if I don't get out of the grave fast enough?" He asked her. Her smile faded.

"You'll most likely suffocate and you won't have another chance to go back to Earth. Understand?" A bright blue light started to surround Nuriko. He nodded.

"Thank you miss." He said, and his body disappeared.

"You're welcome, and good luck."

END FLASHBACK

"Did you purposely put me in my own sister's body!" He yelled. Calming down, he looked around.

'I guess I'm somewhere in Konan, then. If this is Kourin's body...' He thought. Walking towards where Bei-Jia would be, or so he assumed, he muttered, "Well, isn't this great. I used to always say I wanted to be a woman..."

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Since Nuriko's death, Miaka had been thouroughly depressed. It had been a month since Nuriko had died, and now they wouldn't be able to summon Suzaku. Tamahome looked worriedly at Miaka.

"Hey Tamahome? When are we going to tell Hotohori?" She asked. Tamahome sighed.

"We'll tell him when we get back, don't worry." He answered. Tasuki sat on a stump, playing "watch dog" for the group.

"Hey, some one's comin'. Ack! It's a woman!" Tasuki ran away from the stump.

'She looks awfully familiar...' Miaka thought, and her mind drifted to memories of Nuriko. The woman ran towards them.

Tamahome stepped in front of Miaka.

"Who are you?" He demanded. Nuriko looked at Tamahome, resisting the urge to hug every one there.

"Kourin. A.K.A.," Nuriko smiled, "Nuriko." Tamahome (and the rest of the group for that matter) all looked at Nuriko weird. VERY weird. Tamahome looked Nuriko up and down.

"You're not Nuriko. She looked different than you." He said, examining her long purple-ish hair. Nuriko growled at him.

"I know I don't look like Nuriko. I couldn't go back to my own body because it was too mutilated!" He tried to explain, hoping someone would believe him.

"Phtththtthth...Yeah right. You're not Nuriko." Tasuki said, stifling a laugh.

"Yeah!" Chiriko agreed.

Miaka examined Nuriko closely.

"You're a woman!" She said. Nuriko sighed.

'I knew this wouldn't work...' He thought to himself. Then, he got an idea.

"I'll be back!" He started running off, then paused and turned around.

"Say, where'd you bury me-err Nuriko?" He asked Miaka.

"Just outside the canyon of where he died, why?" Miaka answered. Nuriko just ran off, leaving a very confused Suzaku priestess.

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Nuriko dug up his body and grabbed the armlets.

'I wonder if I'll go to hell if I dig up my own body?' He joked.

"Maybe if I can prove to Miaka that I'm Nuriko by showing her that I can use the armlets, she'll believe me? I mean, my sign shows up when I use 'em, right?" He wondered to himself, putting the armlets back on. He smiled.

"Strength, how I've missed thee..." He laughed, pulling down his sleeves. "Now then, to test..." He thought aloud, looking for something big to move.

Little did he know, Miaka and the others where watching.

"Did she just dig up Nuriko's body?" Miaka asked Tamahome, astonished. Tamahome didn't seem to be able to answer, however.

"Hey Miaka, I think that girl's going to try to use Nuriko's armlets." He told her.

Nuriko glanced back at the group. Smiling, he thought, 'Good, they're watching...' Walking over to where the rock he had just recently lifted before death, he once again looked at the group. They still seemed skeptical. Smiling and pointing to the rock, he raised an eyebrow to show he meant something.

Miaka watched this person who claimed to be Nuriko as the young woman signaled that she was going to lift the rock Nuriko had moved. Miaka heard Tasuki mutter something about not hurting herself too much as Nuriko's armlets began to glow. Miaka raised an eyebrow, the glowing only happened to Nuriko, not this GIRL. Everyone in the group was in shock as the girl lifted up the rock with ease and set it further aside. Miaka was the first to run over to Nuriko, and hugged the thought-to-be-dead seishi.

"Nuriko! It really is you! I'm so happy!" She cried. Nuriko smiled and hugged Miaka back. Laughing, Nuriko replied, "I told you it was me! The rest of the group walked over and gave Nuriko their individual greetings. Miaka smiled, the day wasn't too bad after all...

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END

The rest is as the manga goes, only include Nuriko...

Author's Note: I was going to leave this as a cliffhanger too... I fixed up the fic, and added some more! Sorry I haven't written anything on this one for a while, but I've been like, braindead. I decided to make this a one shot, so if you have anymore ideas for this fic, tell me. Oh yes, Nuriko ends up with Hotohori now the he's a she. (yea!) Wow, I can't believe this was my first FY fic... (sigh)

REMEMBER! NO FLAMES! Constructive Critism is okay, as long as you're nice about it. THIS IS MY FIRST FUSHIGI YUUGI FIC, after all...


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